REGIO-SELECTIVE AND STEREOSELECTIVE OXYGENATIONS BY ADULT HUMAN LIVER FLAVIN-CONTAINING MONOOXYGENASE .3. COMPARISON WITH FORM-1 AND FORM-2

The cDNA for the adult human liver flavin-containing monooxygenase (form 3) (FMO3) was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The cDNA-expressed FMO3 was used to investigate the regio- and stereoselective N- and S-oxygenation of a number of tertiary amines and sulfides, respectively. For comparison, the N- and S-oxygenation of the same chemicals and drugs were examined with adult human liver microsomes from a normal healthy female donor and FMO1 from pig liver and FMO2 from rabbit lung. Both cDNA-expressed FMO3 and adult human liver microsomes N-oxygenated trifluoperazine or 10-(N,N-dimethylaminoalkyl) phenothiazines with similar substrate specificities. The substrate specificity for FMO3 differed, however, from that of pig liver FMO1. Nucleophilic sulfur-containing compounds [i.e., thiobenzamide, (4-bromophenyl)-1,3-oxathiolane, and 2-methyl-1,3-benzodithiole] were efficiently S-oxygenated by cDNA-expressed FMO3 and adult human liver microsomes. Stereoselective S-oxygenation of (+)- and (-)-(4-bromophenyl)-1,3-oxathiolane and 2-methyl-1,3-benzodithiole was therefore investigated. In general, the stereoselectivity observed for S-oxygenation in the presence of FMO3 was similar to that observed in the presence of adult human liver microsomes. In most cases examined, however, the stereoselectivity for S-oxygenation was quite distinct from that observed for pig liver FMO1. We conclude that FMO3 is the major form of FMO active in adult human liver. Because the stereoselectivity for S-oxygenation and the substrate specificity for tertiary amine N-oxygenation by cDNA-expressed FMO3 are distinct from those of pig liver FMO1, we conclude that the binding channel for each isoform is quite different. Like FMO2 from rabbit lung, FMO3 apparently possesses a much smaller substrate binding channel than pig liver FMO1, and this undoubtedly has consequences for tertiary amine and sulfide metabolism in humans.